New Spring Moves Running App Might Be the Best Thing to Happen to Your Morning Jog

Ever felt like a workout was at least three times more agonizing than usual because you couldn't seem to find the right music to get you in the mood? Your days of misery at the gym might be coming to an end: Launched on Wednesday, the Spring Moves running app creates playlists based on your running pace. Not only is this perfect if you're tired of your old workout playlist (it feels like I have to make a new one every other week), but it also might make you exercise harder: research has shown that matching music to your workout makes it more efficient overall. As you might have noticed, music makes you enjoy yourself more as well.There are plenty of running apps out there, from the basic timer/pace calculator to my personal favorite, the frankly weird Zombies, Run! app, where your running playlist is interrupted at various intervals by the announcement that you have to sprint away from a horde of zombies. Anyone who says that's not fun is lying, even if it does get old after a few weeks. However, Spring Moves is the first to base playlists on the pace of the runner: before working out, you choose your beats per minute (BPM) and the app provides songs in a range around that pace. You can also set up an interval training feature if you're the kind of superhuman who's into that. I think I'll stick to my basic "point me in one direction and I'll run until I'm tired" strategy, a.k.a. the Forrest Gump.

Interestingly enough, the top 10 favorited songs on the app, handily provided in a playlist below, are all 160-174 BPM, which happens to be the ideal range for running. Clearly this app is onto something.

And if the prospect of new music isn't enough to motivate you, here are some puppies on a treadmill. They (and I) believe in you!